The Oracle
by KartoffelFogel
Summary: The story of the Heretic Leader, Sesa 'Refumee.  My first story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Sesa 'Refumee.

I see amusement in your eyes. For your kind, it is an odd name, no? But what you do not realize is that it is even stranger for me than for you.

The Elite that it represented is now gone. The small-time archeologist that it once heralded is now gone. It doesn't even represent a person anymore. Now, in my case, it represents a purpose: to save the Elites and all of the sentient life in the galaxy from extermination through stupidity.

I believed their lies, once. That is why I became an archeologist of the Covenant. To find more treasures of our ancient Forerunners and to find a way to embark on the Great Journey.

I told myself I would be the one to find the Halos. I told myself that I would be the holy shower of the path. I told myself I would be the one to succeed.

Now I am glad I did not.

Perhaps I should start from the beginning.

I joined the Fleets, signing on as an archeologist-

No. I need to start this later, as the rest is insignificant. Will you listen? I hope so. That way the ironies, faiths, troubles and deaths that surround my life as a veneer of failure will come to light. Come, and listen.


	2. Chapter One: Spark

Chapter One: Spark

"PUT YOUR BACKS TO IT!"

The Grunts cringed, and started heaving the rocks at a much quicker pace, noting how Sesa had been overcharging his pistol for at least an hour now. When that thing fired, it would melt a Grunt into gooey slime.

The Elite was irritable, and the Grunts were jittery, under the bright sun with no atmosphere. Why the Forerunners had designed the Halo's atmosphere to be so fragile was beyond the Grunts. There were approximately a dozen of them, with three Elite overseers, who were giddy with excitement that they were privileged enough to get to work on the Halo. Before the humans blew it up, it was considered to be far too holy. However, they hadn't unearthed much new information, save proving things they already knew, like this was Halo 04 and that there were more to be found. So now a many dig teams were scattered on the surface of the broken pieces of Halo.

"We'll never find anything at this rate." Muttered one of the overseers to Sesa. "Just too much debris."

"We'll never find anything if we give up." He retorted. "But just think of what we could find if we could use plasma cannons!"

"Apparently they need those cannons to fight the humans. The high ups simply don't want to say that they are cheapskates!" the overseer muttered.

"We'll be high ups soon if we find any artifacts. Unlikely, though."

Finally Sesa realized the Grunts were just too tired, and told them to get fifteen minutes of rest. Then, he too rested his nonexistent weight (now that Delta Halo was destroyed, there wasn't any more artificial gravity caused by the centrifugal force) on the edge of a floating rock which one of the grunts had pulled of the large pile of rocks that were still stuck to the Halo. The rocks had crashed over a structure when the Halo was destroyed, and they were now uncovering it.

_I didn't know I would be doing this as an archaeologist. _Sesa thought. _I always thought I would be studying or showing off ancient artifacts._ _Sometimes makes me wish I had joined the Fleets as a soldier. But then I would STILL have had to deal with Grunts._

_Those Grunts_. _Couldn't we have found another species for labor? If only the Hunters were more easily coerced. Then this job would be a blast._

_Blast?_

He looked down at his right hand. He was still gripping the Plasma Pistol tightly. He then realized he had been doing so for the past hour.

_May as well add it to the excavation process._

He fired it into the rocks. It melted through some of them, but appeared to halt. Sesa looked for an explosion, but there was none. He pondered this for a while. Either he just happened to fire into a very long tunnel at just the right angle, or something had absorbed the energy.

The rocks exploded in a massive cloud of dust. The Grunts went into a panic, and Sesa and the Elites stared slack-jawed (even I don't know how that works) and stared.

Where the massive pile of rocks once was, floated a blue spherical object with a glowing eye.

"Greetings! Thank you for the recharge! I am 343 Guilty Spark! How may I be of assistance?"

They all said it at once. Beside the one Grunt that had fainted from fear of fainting, which would have made him unable to run. The object they saw had been depicted in murals, paintings, sculptures and holograms: they had found the Oracle.

Sesa gasped. Many thoughts swirled in his head, such as the respect and prestige he would earn, and the sheer awe of finding the one who could answer all the questions of the Covenant. He would be made a hero!

"THE ORACLE!" they shouted as one voice, the voice of the whole Covenant, at one point, the cry of salvation and awe.

"Oracle? I am but the Monitor of Installation 04, which to my regret is currently suffering from some minor maintenance issues." The object spoke.

Sesa heard 343 Guilty Spark speak, but didn't listen. "Oracle!" he reiterated. "I-I must take you to the Gas Mine first! So I can- so I can show you to the Prophets!"

"Gas Mine? Your information is outdated by 12,239 years. That facility up there is now referred to as the Flood Defense/Research Facility 04, even though it was once used to harvest certain gaseous compounds from the surface of said gas giant."

Once again, Sesa did not comprehend. And he would find comprehending to be very difficult in the days to come. "You must come with us to the facility, Oracle!"

The glowing Monitor took a look at the facility, glanced at the array of archaeologists in front of him, and looked back at the facility.

"Very well. It would be the best location to continue my research of the Flood and to potentially repair the damage to my Installation."

Finally, something Spark said reached Sesa mind. _Damage? Halo has been utterly obliterated. _

But he pushed aside his thoughts as he gathered his people into the Banshees and Seraph ships and left for the gas mine.

In the Seraph, Sesa began to speak with Guilty Spark. He asked, and Spark answered. Answered it all, accurately, truthfully, and in a painfully honest way that would lead to a series of events that would shake the entire Covenant, and a lifetime of faith.

By the time the dig team had arrived at the Gas Mine, Sesa, their leader, was already subdued and oddly quiet, having had a very complex conversation with 343 Guilty Spark. By order of their leader, the dig team spoke of nothing they had seen on their most recent excavation.

However, one particular Elite, Nera 'Corasee, the leader of the small guard at the Gas Mine, was more curious. He had decided to find out what the dig team had uncovered, and why Sesa was not revealing it. _What could it be? An item of power? Why else would he hide it?_ Inwardly, Nera feared Sesa was planning something. He didn't know what, but he didn't like it.

Nera was always suspicious by nature: he had once even suspected that he was actually suffering from memory loss: and began to question everything. This naturally made him a perfect guard; albeit the fact that he was suspicious even of the Prophets.

The guard cornered one of the Grunts assigned to Sesa's dig team, lifted it up, and shouted.

"WHAT IS SESA 'REFUMEE HIDING!"

It is rather easy to interrogate a species that has the motto of "when in doubt, flee."

The Grunt started sniveling, and then began to whimper out:

"He took it to his room, big nasty Elite. No, not you, you GOOD Elite. Good Elite no hurt Grunt. Good Elite—"

Nera dropped the Grunt and pulled out a Carbine from a nearby weapons rack.

He had come up with an elaborate plan: blow straight into Sesa's room and investigate. He set it in motion two minutes after its conception. He took a plasma grenade, stuck to the door to Sesa's room, watched as the explosion tore away the door and some of the wall, and pointed his Carbine at a glowing blue object, which was the only thing he could see in the cloud of dust.

_A Plasma Rifle! Plasma weapons are restricted to military personnel on active duty! Is he planning an insurrection?_

Nera looked in shock as the dust cleared, and Spark was revealed. Sesa looked blankly at Nera. He was sitting across from the Oracle on the floor.

The crimson-armored guard sputtered. "What-what is this? This—"

"—is an Oracle." Sesa finished. "Nera—you must hear. You must listen."

Nera continued sputtering at this revelation. "What! Oracle! Prophets! We must take this to the Prophets!" the guard took a step toward the Oracle.

"NO!" Sesa commanded, and shoved Nera back. "They would seek to silence it! Nera, ask the Oracle about Halo!"

Nera seemed frozen. "Wh-what?" he said.

"Just ask."

"But- but-"

"Just ASK!"

He closed his eyes, and breathed heavily for a while. Then he looked at Sesa with some perplexion and an odd calm, and asked Spark: "What- is- Halo?"

Nera looked away from Guilty Spark and met Sesa's gaze. "We must tell the others." He said in an oddly quiet voice. "Yes." Sesa agreed. "We must show them the truth!"

Rumors, gossip and lies spread quickly. But among the Elites and Grunts at the Gas Mine, nothing spread faster than the truth. Sesa sat in the commons in the Gas Mine, accompanied by Nera and Guilty Spark, and listened to the hubbub of voices, straining to hear what was being said from his position.

"The Halos are super wep-"

"THE PROPHETS HAVE BETRAYED US!"

"The Oracle has spoken!"

"Me have bad feeling about-"

"The Prophets have BETRAYED US!"

He heard many shocked screams, vehement protests, panicking, debating, and various other forms of confusion.

Amongst the chatter of voices, Sesa briefly thought: _I'll have to take command. Continue to tell the Covenant of the truth._ He looked over his shoulder at Nera. _I can trust him._ He then spoke. "Brothers!" he said in his most charismatic tone. To his delight, everyone in the room silenced themselves and looked his way.

"We have heard what the Oracle has said. He has enlightened us as to the true purpose of the Halos! How the Prophets would have doomed us all with their 'Great Journey'! We know what we must do!"

Nobody said anything, but Sesa could see the question in their eyes. _What do we do? _

"We must turn against the Covenant, and show others the truth."

Once again, he could see their replies etched into their faces. _Turn against the Covenant?_

"We must, else we allow the false Prophets to lead us to ruination! What if, in their foolishness, they were to activate a Halo? What then?"

_Activate a Halo? We'd all die!_

"It is our duty to ensure that that never happens, and that the Prophets are revealed as the liars and fools that they are! We, for the faith of the Forerunners and the sake of the Covenant, must do this!"

Sesa paused. Then he continued. "It is the duty of the Prophets to show us the way of the Forerunners. But now, that duty is ours. For our gods, for the Covenant!"

"For the Covenant!"

A cry went up. In that moment, Sesa saw power: and responsibility. But one of the Grunts managed to yell above the cries:

"Prophets say we heretics! They kill us all!"

The cries died down. One of the Elites spoke. "The Grunt raises a point. We have little in the way of weapons or vehicles. Only a few mining Banshees, Guard Carbines, mining Needlers and mining Fuel Rod Guns, and even more useless mining equipment!" A murmur swept through the cloud.

"That is not a primary concern right now." Guilty Spark suddenly said. "I am already rerouting the remainder of Sentinels to this location, so that the Flood stored here are contained. They will also help protect the security of this facility."

Sesa raised his arms triumphantly. "The Oracle has summoned the Sentinels, the Ringwarriors! With their aid, and the broadcasting system in this facility, we will cast down the Prophets, and usher in a new age of enlightenment!"


	3. Chapter Two: Flame

Chapter Two: Flame

Sesa stood on the balcony of the Gas Mine, his goggled eyes staring out at the myriad clouds of the planet Threshold. Now he had twin plasma rifles hanging from his jet pack, and two holo-drones in his belt. Nera walked up to him.

"We brought in another small mining team. Six more Elites, six more Banshees."

"Excellent work, Nera." Sesa said, not looking at him. "We can now send out more holo-drones and broadcast farther. We will soon be able to fully combat the false Prophets."

Nera spoke gruffly. "Very well."

Sesa sighed. "What is it, 'Corasee?"

The guard turned. "It's just that—the Prophet won't be using holo-drones or broadcasts. They'll just kill us. I don't think we have the military prowess to fight them."

"Faith, Nera! We have the Oracle and his holy Sentinels, we number many, and we have weapons and multiple Banshees lances. We will stand and fight, if need be. We simply need to call others to our cause!"

"You are right, of course, Sesa." Nera said.

"Ah, you are naturally doubtful and suspicious, are you not?"

"Contrary to what you may think, Sesa, that is a good thing."

"Hmm. Isn't it time for another sermon?"

"Yes, it is. We're broadcasting to Rantu, in hopes that the Hunters will see the light."

"Good. That is very good."

Sesa and Nera walked back into the facility, now being flanked by two guards in brownish-bronze armor. The Guards had long since lost their blue military armor in favor of the mining suits that enabled vacuum travel. However, Nera still kept his crimson Major Domo armor, but applied the vacuum goggles.

They arrived in a large chamber (not the largest in the Mine but the one with the best acoustics) in front of a crowd of the Enlightened (as they referred to themselves). A solemn applause greeted Sesa, and a small holo-camera was affixed to the ceiling, aimed directly at Sesa. After a few pleasantries, he began his sermon in earnest.

"Each and every one of us has given their faith to the Forerunners, and their Prophets."

Here he straightened up. Then he began gesturing.

"We have held the Prophets in our minds and hearts since we could first comprehend them. We have fought, lived, and some have died for their cause."

"We believed their way of worship toward the Forerunners was the only true one. Even I have put my entire life in the unearthing of artifacts, for the sake of the Prophets! Even I, upon Halo, before it was destroyed, fought to defend its temples from the Humans for the sake of the Prophets!"

"And so their betrayal has no hope of redemption."

"When so much faith is placed upon one person, their betrayal reverses that faith."

"Open your eyes, my brothers! They would use the faith of our Forefathers to bring ruin to us all. The Great Journey-"

Suddenly a commotion interrupted Sesa's sermon. Four blue-armored Elite Minors headed by an Elite Major shoved their way through the crowd toward Sesa. The Major pointed a Plasma Rifle at him. "By order of the Prophets, Sesa 'Refumee, you are declared to be a Heretic and sentenced to DEATH!"

"—is false. The Halos are weapons! The blades of the Forerunners against the Flood! They-"

"SILENCE, HERETIC!"

Rapidly, all the Covenant Elites fired upon Sesa.

Several of the shots went through his head, and did no damage.

One lucky shot hit Sesa square on.

The holo-drone dropped from the air.

The Elite Major's eyes grew wide.

"What! What treachery is this?" Then, the Major looked around him. By now, all the Enlightened Elites and Grunts had armed themselves with Needlers and Carbines, and were pointing them all at him. Then, the real Sesa, and Guilty Spark, came in.

"Oh! What is this? Protocol indicates that all conflicts must be settled by the commanding officer!"

The Covenant Elites dropped their weapons and gasped: "The Oracle!"

Sesa smiled.

"Ask him about Halo."

"Those Elites…" Nera began, as he approached Sesa in the Cable Room, which housed the anchoring system for the whole station.

"What? They saw the truth. Our brothers will join us, despite whatever the Prophets do." Sesa said.

Nera grimaced, and said: "Those Elites were probably sent from the nearest patrol Cruiser. Maybe even just a Phantom patrol. They're not what the Prophets will send out once they deem you a threat."

"A threat? I suppose I am. But we haven't yet engaged in terrorist attacks, or anything else."

"Bah! What we've done amounts to heresy! Who knows what they'll send! They may even have agents here among us! Maybe the new Elites!"

"Oh? I thought they were just a few thugs who didn't really know what they were doing."

"Trying to protect you and the Oracle is like trying to get a hu-"

"BESIDES, with you as my guard, nothing short of an assault cruiser is going to kill me."

"And the Covenant just happen to have hundreds of assault cruisers!"

"Which will stand down after hearing the words of the Oracle!"

"The Prophets might tell them to turn off their hailers! Or they might activate sonic blasters to deafen their soldiers! Or-"

The various Elites and Grunts in the room halted their tasks to stare at their two leaders. Sesa had taken on religious feel: he remained solemn unless he was preaching, then he went into fervor. It was unusual for him to be arguing so loudly.

Sesa stamped his foot down. "Enough! Unless you actually have something vital to say, your time would be better spent guarding the Oracle! I trust you very much, Nera, but your propensity for paranoia can irritate."

Nera drew himself up to his full height. "Actually, I do have something vital to say."

"Oh?"

"We've made several precautions, such as scattering holo-drones across the colonies to be found, and having multiple safehouses, but what we need is a military."

"We already have that. I helped you organize it, remember? The Enlightened Guard."

"No. I mean a fleet. And not this pathetic collection of Banshees and one Seraph! A real fleet!"

"I do not intend to engage the Covenant in head on battle! We would lose! How many of the Enlightened do we have? Four hundred? Less? We must resort to hiding until enough support is garnered."

"Very well." Nera sighed. "But the facility is getting too crowded. We should move some of the Enlightened somewhere else."

"A good plan." Sesa said. "Why not on the broken Halo?"

"Very well." Nera repeated. He walked off, his armor darkening as he walked into the shadowed hallway. Then he began to formulate a plan. _Sesa is used to thinking of me as being paranoid about devious people. Perhaps it is time to be devious myself._

_No-one, _he reflected, _can see you smile in the dark._


	4. Chapter Three: Inferno

Chapter Three: Inferno

Zera 'Machee walked down the corridors of High Charity. Around him, the varied members of the Covenant passed, headed toward their daily business. A trio of Brutes he passed by sneered at him, which he just ignored. _Those ignoble beasts. They are gaining favor with the Hierarchs. I wonder why? _He pondered. _Not that it matters. The Elites will always have their place beside the Prophets._

He had been called to his lance's Phantom. Apparently the Spec Ops had a task for them. _Good, _he thought. _Time to remind my enemies of their fear._

By the time he had reached the Covenant Corvette _Rising Faith, _the rest of the Spec-Ops lances were already there. Their commander, the illustrious Rtas 'Vadumee, was speaking to the Arbiter. Zera huffed. _The incompetent Heretic failed to safeguard the holy ring. Let us hope he is a good fighter. It would be a stain on his family and state if he were to be twice failed and unredeemed._

He took a position next to his friend, who was also from the same clan as he. Fiira 'Machee was a good warrior, even though some others held him in contempt for using a sniper beam rifle, which many Elites considered to be a dishonorable weapon.

"Let us hope this Arbiter can redeem himself. I don't fancy being caught in a suicide battle." He murmured to Fiira.

"Indeed. But the most effective Arbiters are those of his kind: disgraced warriors with a burning desire for redemption." He replied.

They both stopped talking when they noted that their leader was gesturing them toward the _Rising Faith._ They picked up their weapons, a Plasma Rifle for Zera, and Fiira's trademark Beam Rifle.

_Well then, Arbiter. Let's see how well those heretics fight against their own kind._

"When we joined the Covenant, we took an oath!" the Spec Ops Leader said.

"According to our station, all without exception." The Elites intoned in reply.

"On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!"

"Even unto our dying breath!" The Elites replied, getting into the rhythm.

"Those who would break this oath are Heretics, worthy of neither pity, nor mercy! Even now, they use our lords' creation to broadcast their lies!" Vadumee said, adding another clause.

"We shall grind them into dust!" For the sake of continuity, they decided to omit the second reply phrase: "and scrape them as excrement from our boots"

"And continue our march toward glorious salvation!" 'Vadumee finished.

Zera loved the oath. It gave him a sense of purpose, of faith. He felt as one with the rest of the Elites, and it made him feel powerful.

The three Phantoms had now approached the station, after the _Rising Faith's _alert concerning the storm. After exiting the Corvette, the world of Threshold revealed itself to be a hellish gas giant, unlike some of the more sedate ones.

His leader just finished talking to the Arbiter. He then looked at Zera. "You and Kirvo accompany the Arbiter. Fiira has already taken Ktha and two Grunts to unlock the entrance."

Zera nodded. He gestured to Kirvo, and they followed the Arbiter to the entrance. By the time they were there, Ktha, their tech Elite, was already picking the holo-lock. He glanced around at the rest of the lance. Two Grunts, Fiira, their sniper, Kirvo and himself, assaults soldiers both, and the Arbiter, grim-faced and silent.

Ktha opened the door, and the Spec Ops troops shuffled in. Fiira spoke. "Engage active camouflage! Reveal yourselves only when the Arbiter joins battle!"

They all complied, save for the Arbiter. When the door opened, only then did the Arbiter cloak.

Zealots charged into battle, and reveled in a ferocious battle. Vac-Assualt Elites flew and disoriented. But those of the Special Operations variety glided into position, and finished the battle in seconds.

Fiira took a sniping position. Zera and Kirvo hung behind the Arbiter. The Grunts hid.

The Arbiter walked behind the heretic that was pacing, and slammed his fist in the small of his back, underneath the backpack, breaking both the shield wiring and the spine of the heretic.

The heretic Grunts sprang into action, but Fiira dropped one, and the Arbiter hosed of the rest with his Plasma Rifle. A heretic Elite caught sight of the action, and started firing and Kirvo. Zera fired back at the heretic. _I'm giving him maybe ten seconds more of life._

He barely completed the thought before the Arbiter killed the heretic.

The Spec Ops lance flooded into the tall walkway from which the heretics were firing down at them. One of the Grunts placed his Plasma Cannon at the center, and started firing. Then the rest came down at the shocked heretics in the room of conveyor belts below. Zera blasted down two Grunts, but that was all he got, and the second largest kill score.

The battle was quick, with the Arbiter having slaughtered most of their opponents.

"Masterful, Arbiter!" Kirvo breathed.

"Indeed, brother!" Ktha agreed.

Even Fiira nodded enthusiastically.

_You still have far to go before you atone for the destruction of the ring. And far to go to earn my respect._ Zera thought.

The climbed down the next room, and quelled the heretics there. The Arbiter spotted another Energy Sword, picked it up, and handed it to Zera.

"The Arbiter is feeling gracious." He replied, with more than a hint of sarcastic respect.

The Arbiter looked at him, and then turned toward the rest of the room. He began to walk toward the elevator in the center. The Spec-Ops Elites followed, with more faith than ever.

_The elevator's down._ Naro noted. _But it's empty. _

Then the Sentinel carrying the crate above him exploded. "Intruders!" he barked out, spotting the Spec Ops Elites. Then he jumped onto the Seraph fighter, and faced his second-in-command. "Hold them off! I shall alert Sesa and prepare our fleet!"

He ran desperately down the hallway that would lead him toward the sermon chamber of the Enlightened. As he was running down the hallways, his soldiers were alerting him to every development.

"Commander Corasee! We have caught the intruders in the Seraph hangar! We are pouring into them!"

He almost murmured "thank the Prophets" out of habit, but stopped himself.

"Sir! They've brought in one of their Phantoms with reinforcements."

He cursed the Prophets as he rounded a corner. He encountered two Grunts. "Fuel Rod Guns!" Naro commanded. "Seraph hangar! Now!" Not looking to see if the Grunts followed his orders, he kept running.

"Commander! Did you send those Grunts? Thank you! That damn Phantom- BY THE ORAC-!"

Then Naro hear what sounded like a Plasma Grenade sticking to a Fuel Rod Gun and exploding.

_Thrice bedamned Prophets!_

He then reached the Sermon Chamber. Sesa turned to him from where he was standing, looking out at the storm from inside the chamber.

"Sesa! Sesa!" the crimson-armored heretic gasped.

"Intruders. I heard. Mobilize the fleet, and the Banshees."

"Very well." Naro said, and complied as he and his master walked out into the balcony. As they reached the Banshees outside, they looked back through the window and caught sight of the Arbiter and the Spec Ops Elites.

"Deal with him my brothers!" Sesa said. "I shall defend the Oracle."

"No!" Naro replied. Go join the fleet! I shall-"

Sesa cut him short with a look.

"Very-, well, Sesa." Naro said. "Very well." He repeated. "Go now, and may the Forerunners be with you."

Sesa nodded. They both clambered into their Banshees, and went their separate ways.

Shortly after the Arbiter left on a Banshee with a Phantom, a second one arrived. The Spec Ops lances floated in. Zera floated in last.

"Casualties?" asked Rtas 'Vadumee, who had taken the Phantom there.

"None!" Fiira said, with obvious joy in his voice.

"None?" Rtas reiterated.

"No sir, not one! The Arbiter burns with a fierce power!"

Rtas just nodded. "You and Zera man the side cannons. We will knock down some Banshees until the Arbiter has tracked down the heretic leader."

Zera complied, and took the left cannon, then let rip once he spotted a Banshee. The Phantom cut down Banshee after Banshee, but as they did so Zera noted something. The Banshees were coming down at them one by one, not as if they were actually trying to kill them, which would never happen, but as if they were trying to buy time.

_Or distance. _

Soon, they were alerted as to where the Heretic had fled. Rtas dropped down, with Kirvo and Zera in tow. Zera decided to take a second Plasma rifle, alongside the blade the Arbiter had given him.

They dropped down, and Zera took the lead, striding back into the station, with Kirvo coming in close behind him. Their leader and then the Arbiter strode in. The Elites paused as Rtas stopped.

"What is it?" the Arbiter asked. Rtas steeled himself, as did Kirvo and Zera.

"That stench. I've smelled it before."


	5. Chapter Four: Dying Fire

Chapter Four: Dying Fire

Two Grunts, Zera, Rtas, Kirvo and the Arbiter walked past the first chamber, but stopped dead when they reached the second. They all looked down through the floor, at the battle raging beneath them.

"The heretics—what have they done?" Zera murmured.

The Arbiter kept walking, leaving behind the rest of the lance. Eventually the rest of the lance grudgingly followed. They reached the third chamber, and like the rest of this section of the station, it was cluttered with lab equipment. Zera looked around. He did not know it, but once this chamber had been brightly lit, with an antiseptic feel, with Forerunner scientists working hard to come up with ideas to fight the Flood. Now it was desolated, with the scent of the parasite.

"What happened here?" Kirvo asked, aiming the question at no one in particular. His voice quavered with just a hint of fear.

"I have bad feeling about this." One of the Grunts said.

"You have bad feeling about everything! You had bad feeling about morning food nipple!" The other Grunt retorted.

"Close your jaws or I shall bind them shut!" Kirvo snapped, apprehension building. Zera felt it too. _If I ever make it back to Sanghelios, I'll have many tales to tell._ He thought. He tightened his grip on his Plasma Rifles.

His gaze shot up to a small blue sphere, hovering and humming. It flew right in front of the lance, and a holo-image of the Heretic Leader appeared.

"SEE! HERETIC!" one of the Grunts yelled. Then he and his comrade began to fire, their shots disrupting the image of the Heretic.

"Hold your fire." Commanded 'Vadumee. "I said, HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

The Grunts obviously thought 'Vadumee was scarier than any Heretic, and immediately stopped fighting. "I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me." The Heretic Leader intoned. "An Arbiter- I'm flattered."

"He's using a holo-drone. He must be near." 'Vadumee muttered quietly to Kirvo and Zera. Then, louder, aimed at the Heretic, he spoke: "Come out, so we may kill you!"

The Heretic laughed.

"Get in line."

With that, the image faded, and the holo-drone collapsed, its task done.

Suddenly a feeling of fear washed over Zera. As suddenly as it had come, it vanished, leaving only a lingering wariness.

"Be wary," 'Vadumee said. "For the Flood is upon us."

The Arbiter did not change his expression as he spoke: "Only one more obstacle. The Flood will no more stop us than the Heretics.

"But at what cost?" Zera said. The Commander and the Arbiter stared at him. It was a cowardly question, but he felt no shame in it.

Then the Flood broke upon them. Small Infection Forms hurled themselves bodily from the edges of the room. Several leapt upon 'Vadumee, who shrugged them off and set himself to slicing them to pieces. Zera readied his Plasma Rifles, and seared away swathes of Flood Forms. He stood stolidly, ripping away at his assailants. He first fired away with one Rifle until it overheated, then switched to the other, creating a never-ending stream of blue plasma that incinerated Infection Form after Infection Form.

One of the putrid parasites found its way into a corpse, and animated it. It got up, and lumbered toward the Grunts. With one swing of its tentacle arm, it crushed the first Grunt, and then killed the other with a shot from its Carbine. But before it could attack the Elites, the Arbiter sliced it in two. The Infection Form that animated it tried to flee, but could not escape one of Kirvo's well-aimed shots.

After a few more grueling minutes, their Commander snarled: "Bah! Go, Arbiter, I'll follow when reinforcements arrive!" He then nodded toward Zera and Kirvo, who returned his nod and followed the Arbiter through the door into the next room.

Sesa stood in the center of the Great Sermon Chamber, at the very bottom. This chamber was actually the Cable Room, where the massive cord that held up the station was anchored. Above him, on the terraces and walkways, stood the vanguard of the Enlightened that stayed to protect him and the Oracle. The Oracle, however, was already safe inside the Seraph hangar bay, which the Spec Ops Elites had already left.

"Even now, the minions of the false Prophets come." He intoned.

"Even now, the Flood presses upon us."

"Even now, dozens of our brethren have died."

"But our own trials are miniscule to what our peoples are suffering." Everyone in the chamber was silent and unmoving, so much so that every word Sesa spoke echoed in the chamber.

"The false Prophets are grinding down the other peoples of the galaxy! They place the Covenant under their mastery, lead them along with false hopes, wage wars against innocents, and sacrifice countless lives for their own profit!"

"This cannot continue."

"For better or for worse, my brothers, our first and final stand is here, and now. _We_ will fight until our dying breath. _We_ will _begin_ the glorious march to salvation! Would we have gods present us with an easy path to paradise? Or will we fight to make our worlds a paradise of their own?"

"None of us will live. Ah, but for the futures of the world, and our legends-"

"The words of a _new _Covenant-"

"_Those _we will write, not in the blood of our fathers, or our sons-"

"But in that of our enemies and our own!"

"Sentinels! Dammit, Kirvo, watch yourself! Zera-"

"Consider them dead!"

_It's amazing._ Zera thought. _How long has this mission taken? A few hours? Already, the disgraceful incompetent of an Elite I thought got off easy has been replaced by someone who has saved my life countless times. What was that saying the People of the Masks used? Aah, it was: 'Danger is the anvil on which trust is forged'._

A Sentinel took out the Arbiter's energy shields. But it flew to low. Zera destroyed it with a kick, and replaced his failing Plasma Rifles for its Beam weapon.

_An apt saying. _Zera thought.

He leapt over a pile of corpses and debris to land next to the Arbiter. As he was doing so, the elevator they were on stopped. The platform, now covered with pieces of Flood Forms and Sentinels, shuddered as it reached the bottom.

"I think we're done here." Kirvo murmured.

"Hardly." Zera huffed. "We've only gone down one corridor. There are still more trials ahead of us."

The Arbiter nodded. "Follow me." He said. The two Spec Ops Elites obliged. They stepped gingerly off the elevator they were on and entered another corridor littered with junk. "We should have brought weapons to burn these bodies. Every one is a vessel for the Flood." Zera said.

"Never mind that now. We'll just have to slice them apart when they come for us." The Arbiter replied. "Let us hurry."

They proceeded until they reached a room that was devoid of any order. Heretics battled desperately against the Flood. The three Elites stood atop a ledge, looking down at the battle. "Steel yourselves." Commanded the Arbiter, and they leapt into the fray.

The Arbiter sliced apart a Combat Form as they landed, and Zera tossed a Plasma Grenade onto a Heretic Grunt. The Grunt proceeded to run around maniacally, and much to the panic of his comrades, ran toward them, screaming for help until he, and they, exploded.

Zera caught sight of Kirvo fighting hard against two Combat Forms. He activated his Sentinel Beam and fried off one of the Combat Forms. Quickly, Kirvo dispatched the remaining one with his Plasma Rifle.

"I thank you, 'Machee, but have some faith in me!"

Zera nodded, and as he dipped his head, a shot went over him. He wheeled around, and caught sight of another Combat Form. He fired, burning away one of its arms. The creature, lacking its weapon arm, ran at him, tentacle raised to deal a blow. Kirvo shot it to death.

Zera glanced at him, and with some slight irritation, he said: "Now who needs faith in his comrades?"

The Arbiter finished off a group of Flood, and then gestured toward an Energy Sword lying on a pedestal. "Zera, pick up that Sword. The Flood fear it, and rightly so."

Zera nodded. He also picked up a Plasma Pistol, lightweight and convenient. As soon as the Elites readied themselves, Infection, Combat and Carrier Forms started to fall down upon them. Zera smiled grimly. He lifted up his blade.

_What was that the humans say? Ah, yes._

_Come and meet my little friend._

Sesa stood serenely as his aide reported about the current situation.

"The Spec Ops Elites have actually penetrated the core of the Flood infestation and are now headed here! It is doubtful that we will be able to hold on much longer."

Sesa sighed, inhaling sharply, and then letting out the air slowly. This caused a quiet whirring in his vacuum-armor. "You worry too much, brother. What are our deaths compared to the fate of the Covenant? You should worry not about death, but about the protection of the Oracle."

"Yes, wise one." His aide withdrew.

_Ah. Do I really mean that? It is doubtful that the Enlightened will be able to fare without me. Maybe I should flee, and instruct the Enlightened to buy me time. And time for Nera, too. I hope he succeeds. If not, then I will succeed in escaping._

Absentmindedly, he walked over to the central cable. As he did so, his aide returned, bearing twin Plasma Rifles. "Wise one," the aide said. "Here are the weapons you requested." He thanked his aide, and lifted up the Rifles. They were taken from the lance of Elites that had attempted to arrest him. He hefted them, tested their weight, and inspected their power cells, and determined that the reactors were sufficiently charged, and capable of emitting plasma at a satisfactory rate.

Suddenly, he heard cries. He looked up, and spotted the elevator coming into the Sermon Chamber. _What is worrying them?_ He thought. As if in answer, an Infection form hurtled down. He lifted his Rifles, ready to incinerate it, but before he did, his aide shot it out of the air with a Carbine. Sesa flashed him a slightly irritated look.

"I apologize, wise one. I did not mean-"

Sesa silenced him with a wave of his hand. "You merely did your duty. I'll have ample cause to use these." He then gestured to the Flood bearing down at them. "Stand by me, and shoot to kill."

His aide dutifully, lifted his Carbine, and fired off bursts of shots. Slowly, the Flood pushed back the Enlightened, forcing them down, away from the top of the Chamber. The Enlightened ripped away at the flood, acting as a single barrier, shredding their opponents. Sadly, as soon as the Combat Forms dropped, they were revived by the Infection Forms. The Carbines did poorly against disabling the Flood. However, Fuel Rod Guns, and Sentinel Beams, were more effective. The Silver Sentinels flew about quickly, attacking where the Flood was most concentrated.

It was a losing battle. Eventually, the Enlightened's ranks broke as the Flood crept past them and attacked them from behind. Finally, they retreated, fleeing to the center of the chamber. As they did so, Flood poured down, jumping from ledges and running down ramps. Sesa covered the retreat with his Plasma Rifles, saving the wounded and culling the Flood, which were more vulnerable by far to plasma.

Then chaos broke out. The majority of the Flood Forms where shredded, but the Enlightened where weakened severely, and as they died, the Flood grew. Sesa turned when he heard one of the doors open. Expecting more Flood he fired away with his Rifles. His shots had no effect, as they struck not corpses, but fully charged energy shields.

The Spec Ops lance charged in, scattering the Flood and the Enlightened. The Arbiter, at the head, ignored all else save Sesa. Sesa ran, and his aide stepped in front of the Arbiter, lifting his Carbine menacingly. The Arbiter cut the aide in half with an Energy Sword, and chased Sesa. However, Sesa had already escaped beyond the other door, and activated a force field to protect himself.

The Arbiter halted just before the force field. Sesa turned around slowly.

"This will save me from the storm, but you will be consumed."

The doors closed.

The Arbiter slammed his fist into the force field.

_Hah. Fool. Now, just to stay put. Stick with the original plan. This bunker will protect me from the storm. _

_I hope._

Zera finished off the last Flood form by hacking it into pieces, with relish. He noted 'Vadumee and the Arbiter standing next to each other, and staring at the holo-image of the cable. He turned to where Kirvo was, and spoke.

"What is happening? Why are we not chasing the Heretic?"

"Because he activated a force-field! It will take too long to break through it. I've looked, and it isn't happening. We don't even have Ktha to try to disable it."

Zera grimaced. "Ktha is a good tech expert, but he would have gotten killed had he tried to come with us."

Kirvo nodded, and then 'Vadumee spoke. "Warriors, return to the landing zone! The Arbiter is going to continue upward, cut this station loose, and scare the Heretic from his hole!"

_Cut the station loose? _Zera wondered. Kirvo nodded, and walked to the exit. Rtas followed, as did Zera. Kirvo wished upon the Arbiter the Forerunner's guidance, who in response just nodded. Zera looked at the Arbiter as if he was insane. "Are you mad? You will die!"

"Isn't that the point? I am a disgraced warrior, for whom life has no more meaning. I am capable of doing what others cannot."

Zera stood in front of the Arbiter, appraising him. "We shall not forget your sacrifice."

The Arbiter nodded.

As Zera followed Kirvo, he thought:

_Why do I feel so depressed? I did not feel this way for the deaths of my comrades. _

_No, it isn't grief. It's… apprehension? Over what? The Heretics?_

_No. But something wrong is going to happen._

_And the Arbiter is going to do it._


	6. Chapter Five: Ashes of the Flood

Chapter Five: Ashes of the Flood

He couldn't pinpoint when it happened, he really couldn't. But at some point, he had lost total hope not only in the Prophets, but in his own people as well.

The grand fires of rebellion he had planned, the changing of the Covenant, the removal of the Prophets from power, and the Elite's takeover: these plans he formulate had, in less than a day, burned. Or rather, drowned. Drowned beneath the Flood.

Sesa began to curse the Flood. Had it not been for the parasite, everything would have worked out. There was no way that the Arbiter could have killed him had the Enlightened focused their attentions on him, and without the Flood to complicate things. No way! None! It was the fault of the Flood!

But at least, for now, he was safe. Soon he would be able to make it to the hanger, get in the Seraph, and gather the remainder of his Banshees and assault the Covenant Corvette his scouts had identified as the _Rising Faith_. He was sure they would board it with ease. After all, most of the Spec Ops soldiers were battling the Flood.

_Maybe sending out Nera wasn't such a good idea. Maybe I should have kept them on hand. I am too selfless, that's always been one of my problems. _

He simply had to bide his time.

He motioned to the Elites that were accompanying him, and said "I think we should start heading to the Seraph hangar now. I suppose we'll have to assault the _Rising Faith _sooner or later."

The Elites nodded. Sesa began the descent to one of the Banshee balconies, from which he would be able to fly to the Seraph hangar. As he did so, he periodically activated some of his holo-drones to deliver sermons, and invigorate his soldiers. Fill them with the anger of the betrayed; whip them into a vengeful fury.

Fear gripped many people, but not Sesa. He would act to protect himself or flee, but he wouldn't feel fear. He would simply act. _Now how can I use that in a speech? _He mused.

As he did so, suddenly a massive lurch occurred and the lights dimmed. The station groaned as a giant would, each and every rivet and support straining. Suddenly, his Elites wheeled around in panic, and the Enlightened Grunts cowered as one.

"What-" He shouted over the roar of the station. "-is happening!"

An Elite ran over to him. Instead of a weapon, he carried a small info-pad. "'Refumee, the Arbiter! He has cut the cable! We've lost a large amount of power, and the force-fields have dropped! We-"

"Silence!" roared Sesa, losing control. He shouldered past the Elite, and proceeded to run to the Banshee balcony. "Buy me time! I will save the Oracle!" he shouted to his Enlightened.

The Enlightened around him just stared. Sesa looked at them as if they were insane. They returned his gaze with even more bafflement. He looked down, at his feet. The Elite engineer was unconscious. Or… dead?

He raised his Plasma Rifles. One of them was dripping with blood. Had he inadvertently swung a blow at the Elite? Had he-_killed _him?

_No!_ he said to himself. _Now is not the time to dawdle or doubt yourself. Take command, lest the Flood overwhelm you!_

"Burn his body." He ordered. "We don't want the Flood getting its hands on him."

He then strode away.

The Enlightened fought bravely, and with vitality, but ultimately the Flood was too strong a foe. Combat Forms carried all the matter of weapons, and were only more dangerous when they did not. Carrier Forms dropped down like bombs, exploding near the Enlightened with vicious force, killing many, and splattering the survivors with squid-like Infection Forms.

Needler fire and Sentinel Beams did most of the work, cutting apart and blowing away at the Flood. A few Fuel Rod Guns were still being used to tear away at the advancing Flood, but the effort was as futile as attempting to kill an actual flood of water. They could blast at it, create ripples, but they would never stop it.

The moment their formations broke, the Flood began to overwhelm them, creating a fierce chaos fueled by anger and fear. More than one Grunt had already panicked, stuck themselves with Plasma Grenades and died in a blaze of glory. Elite after Elite fell, dying at the tentacles of the Flood.

The environment was perfect, at least in the eyes of the camouflaged figure that danced in between the two warring forces, only occasionally appearing and killing scores of them at a time. The Enlightened did not present any threat the Elite that was killing them, and neither did the Flood.

A few small groups of both Flood and Enlightened appeared to attempt to kill him, but they failed and faltered before his blade. Quickly, quietly, and irrevocably bent on his mission, the Arbiter ran forward, bringing death closer to the figure he knew only as the Heretic Leader.

Sesa rushed toward the balcony, and after spotting it, he ran for it even faster. He turned around for a split second, and spotted the Arbiter hot on his heels. Grimacing, he dropped a Plasma Grenade, forcing his pursuer to change course. He then continued running.

The light in the corridor were flickering ominously, and the two Elites could only see flashes of each other. However, the corridor went straight, and there were no side passages. There was nowhere for Sesa to go, besides forward.

_If I can make it to the balcony, _he thought. _I'm safe. _His heart beat quickly, and the world around him was a chaotic swirl of lights and shadows.

He burst out of the corridor, the Arbiter close behind, and caught sight of the Banshees. There were two of them, and he leapt toward the closest one, and lobbed a Plasma Grenade at the other. Or at least he tried to. He remembered dropping a grenade to deter the Arbiter. He muttered out a curse into the storm that now engulfed the Gas Mine.

He jumped into the Banshee, and flew off, headed toward the Seraph hangar. He heard plasma fire behind him, and the sound of a Fuel Rod blast crashing into a Banshee at point blank range. The Arbiter appeared to be a skilled pilot.

He quickly dropped out of the Banshee as soon as he reached the hangar, opened the small port-airlock and entered the hangar. He barely noticed as a rounded blue cube floated down to greet him.

"Greetings! I am pleased to see Safety Protocol one-nine has been initiated!"

Sesa turned around and glared at the 343 Guilty Spark. "A safety protocol? Do we now have more Sentinels, or defense systems?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"If it's not defensive procedures, then what _is _this accursed safety protocol of yours!"

"Why, cutting the cable, of course. My creators designed the cable to be split, so that in the event of an uncontrollable Flood outbreak on this research station, it could be successfully contained."

Sesa gave a disgusted snarl and jumped onto the Seraph. "Well then, Oracle, you are capable of slipspace travel on your own, correct?"

"Indeed."

"Then you can follow alongside my Seraph?"

"Absolutely! My creators furnished me with a nano-slipspace cohesion unit, enabling me to successfully 'ride' upon another slipspace rift! I shall immediately exit."

Spark flew toward the main opening of the hangar. Sesa then bent down to open the Seraph's hatch, but not before he heard a voice.

"Turn, Heretic."

Sesa turned slowly. "Arbiter." He acknowleged.

"I would rather die by your hands, then let the Prophets lead me to slaughter."

The Arbiter sneered. _He obviously will not hear the truth._ Sesa thought. _The fool._

"Who has taught you these lies?" the Arbiter said, stretching out each syllable with hatred.

Sesa gestured, pointing at 343 Guilty Spark, who was descending again. He then turned back to the Arbiter, who, he was delighted to notice, was transfixed with awe. He began to lift his Plasma Rifles but stopped when the Arbiter's eyes flicked toward him for a split second.

"Hello!" Spark said cheerfully. "I am 343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of Installation zero-four."

Sesa decided to try again at distracting the Arbiter. "Ask the Oracle about Halo." He implored. "About how they would sacrifice us all for nothing!"

"More questions? Splendid! I would be happy to assist you!" Spark said brightly.

The Arbiter reluctantly shifted his stare, and swallowed, as he was about to ask the Oracle.

For a brief moment, Sesa pondered letting the situation unfold. He knew that the Arbiter would most likely listen, but seek further proof. _He may yet become another figure to lead the Elites to enlightenment._ He thought. _No! That is my place!_

He lifted his rifles, and before the Arbiter could react, fired off several blasts. The Arbiter, shocked retreated back into the shadows, and faded away, his camouflage concealing him.

"The Elites are _blind_, Arbiter." Sesa said, pulling out two holo-drones. "But I," he said, activating them. "Will make them see." The drones landed, and two identical copies of Sesa appeared. Immediately, one of them vanished with an explosion, as the Arbiter had wasted no time in cutting one of them apart with his blade.

Sesa snarled in anger. He flew up, firing shot after shot, and deploying another holo-drone. The Arbiter pulled out a Needler with his other hand, and blasted an entire magazine out at holo-Sesas, sending another drone flying down, and the other retreating.

Finally, concentrated Plasma Rifle fire pushed the Arbiter back, and Sesa had time to activate two more holo-drones. He then flew into one of the vents, and beckoned to Spark. However, the Monitor appeared not to be listening to him, instead rambling on about the station.

"This mining facility predates Installation Alpha by several hundred years. It was retrofitted to research possible offensive and defensive measures against the Flood. Indeed, I designed and oversaw the construction of this facility's various outbreak management systems."

_Damn machine! Can it not use common sense?_

Finally Sesa stopped beckoning to Spark as he spotted two more holo-drones go down. He was running out, and the Arbiter knew it. He only had two left. Immediately, Sesa activated two, unleashing them upon the Arbiter directly. The twin holograms attacked the Arbiter from both sides, forcing him to leap upon the Seraph, in plain sight. He wheeled around constantly, firing needles and slicing with his blade, keeping the drones at bay.

_I'm going to die._

Sesa numbly let the thought slip into his head. He would be made a martyr to his cause. Maybe, with Nera and the fleet, his cause would live on. But it would live on without him. And that would not do!

_I… I can kill the Arbiter. These idiot drones cannot. But I can! I _will _kill him, and I _will _escape! There can be no other answer!_

Sesa flew down, right at the Arbiter, letting all his fury and hatred and sense of betrayal rise up in him. _I will not die. He will. I am the herald of the First Age of Truth, and I will see my will be done. I have been betrayed, my whole life has been revealed to be a lie. Truth is, it _was _just a lie. Not a life. So here, and now, I will begin my life anew!_

"_For the truth!" _he yelled. He drew his Plasma Rifles.

The Arbiter readied his blade.

_Here, and now, I am reborn._

The Arbiter thrust out his sword.

Sesa veered.

The Arbiter seemed shocked that Sesa had dodged. "What is this!" he demanded. "You would avoid your death like a coward? Come, and taste my blade!"

Sesa merely snarled in reply, and slammed one of his Plasma Rifles against the Arbiter's shoulder, and the other against his head. The Arbiter slumped to the ground. His armor sparked with the shields breaking. "Hah! Where is your pride now, Arbiter?" Sesa said, flying away.

The Arbiter looked at him. "You fear death, heretic, and I do not."

Saying this, he returned to his knees, then his feet, and then charged right at Sesa. Sesa fired a constant stream of Plasma at him, totaling his shields. Then the blasts started searing the armor, turning small patches shiny with reflective slag. Finally, the blasts started burning the Arbiter's flesh.

The Arbiter screamed out a curse, and Sesa said: "You are dead, Arbiter!"

"Dead Elites cannot die again."

_He will flinch._ Sesa thought, his Rifles overheating.

_He will flinch. _The Arbiter thought, his blade charging.

Sesa flinched a second before the Arbiter reached him, his Rifles missing for a split second.

The Arbiter's blade pierced Sesa's chest.

Sesa went down, his sanguine-purple blood streaming down upon his armor. Above him, proudly, the Arbiter stood. "You had no gods to guide you."

Sesa stared blankly upward. His thoughts were not filled with regret, or pride. He was simply wondering what it was like to _not think, _or to _not live._

"You had no faith to give you strength."

Sesa turned to face the Arbiter, ignoring the pain. "Whoever said faith had anything to do with gods?"

He held the pondering face of the Arbiter for a moment, and then the fire left his eyes.

Epilogue: Phoenix Reborn

Several ships flew down upon the surface of the Halo. Each, individually, was its own, each bearing the wear and tear of strife, revealed in the forms of dents, or scratches. Each displayed its own personality, some being fine-tuned by their pilots so much as to seem alive, others obstinately refusing to turn certain degrees.

Against the back drop of the sun, and the looming expanse of the planet Threshold in the distance, this odd flock of birds dropped down, and began to roost not on ledges, or precipices, but upon open ground. A little way away from the ships, a large piece of wreckage lay within a small canyon.

The ships opened, to reveal a large group of Elites and Grunts, the Elites walking solemnly, with grief in their steps, as they thought of their lost brethren. The Grunts walked fearfully, with paranoia in their steps, as they thought of their lost brethren. Finally, one of the Elites, in crimson armor now faded into a dull red, lifted his hand and beckoned to his living brethren.

"We made it. Our journey is over."

Well, that's it. So Nera survives, Sesa buys the farm and Spark is still insane. Yeah, I know the ending's crap, but I sort of got sick of finishing it. Sorry about that. I promise that my future works will not be as horrible as this disgrace of literature.


End file.
